I read somewhere -- can't find it now -- that the daughter had previously signed a contract but that when the mom threatened to sue, the contract was cancelled. I also read -- somewhere -- that the contract had been with PA. I suspect that PA was there so that if the mom and daughter resolved their problems, they could once again sign with their "previous" publisher.
Just my impression ....
(The how many new authors have gotten $3,000,000 in royalties was a good question, IMO)
Mo
exactly - I can guess at the timeline based on the Dr. Phil background.
1) Daughter sends in manuscript. PA, as usual, offers contract without even reading it.
2) Mother finds out, gets lawyer and nasty note is sent to PA.
3) PA dumps daughter pronto. Remember, they're right now in court over an ex-PA author who published a family memoir that labeled her grandfather as a "warlock". Even though they later cancelled the contract and refused to print any more copies, they were still found legally liable for publishing the manuscript in the first place. I believe the court case is still unresolved, but it ain't pretty.
As well, Authorhouse lost a huge court case where someone had done basically the same thing - even self-pubs have to be careful of what they end up printing!
4) Offer comes in from Dr. Phil asking for a rep to be at the show. PA jumps at the chance, thinking that Dr. Phil will get the two to hug, kiss and make up and then the PA rep can leap onto the stage and deliver a contract to be signed right there in front of the cameras.
5) Whoops. Dr. Phil not only doesn't reconcile the mom/daughter, but declares the manuscript to be "unpublishable" until they resolve other issues. PA rep flies back home to the PA Hole with unsigned contract.
all in all, not a good day for PA.
dang.
